Police return to the scene of the body-in-car discovery in the Hawke's Bay homicide investigation. Video / Supplied
WARNING: Contains content some people may find upsetting
Ariki Rigby's young life was cut short in a homicide which has shocked the country – dumped in a car which was torched in a rural Hawke's Bay carpark. As police hunt those responsible, Neil Reid reports on her dream of making it musically, and her tragic death
As a schoolgirl at Whanganui Girls' College, Ariki Rigby would entertain classmates, friends and family through the power of music and laughter.
During her time at the school – one of New Zealand's oldest single-sex schools – the teen was a regular poster to social media channel TikTok, posting short clips of her singing snippets of her own songs, or dancing and singing along to what was hot in the charts.
And, tragically, just weeks before her remains were belatedly discovered by police in a burnt-out car at the carpark at River Rd Recreational Reserve on the outskirts of Havelock North, the then 18-year-old seemed to be trying to aspire to her former college's mantra of "Aim High" when it came to her music aspirations.
Shortly before her disappearance, Ariki posted online about her musical dream, writing: "I'm Gonna make a [sic] album for my raps and songs".
The young woman wrote how she hoped her friends and family would like her musical creations and added: "I'm actually real good with flows bars ... I'll give it a real good go studios and all."
Ariki – who had spent time in Auckland before returning to the Hawke's Bay where her body was later found – wrote how a room in her mother's house was going to be transformed into a "studio".
A tent partially covers the area where the car was parked and set alight on the outskirts of Havelock North. Photos / Supplied, NZME
The album had a working title of "Hustlaaa".
"It be raps/songs about anything ... help me with topics and stuff but yeah hopefully I get big bucks one day ... only goal is to get rich SLEEPING."
Her music post had numerous references to terms synonymous with the Mongrel Mob.
And one of Ariki's social media accounts includes a photo of her posing with patched Mongrel Mob Flaxmere members on August 27 – it was one of the final posts she ever made.
'We are so worried sis'
On the afternoon of September 8, Anaherā Rigby made a very public appeal for anyone who had seen her younger sister.
In it she shared the final text that she had received from Ariki – sent at 4.36am on the morning of August 23, with the teen saying a friend had given her and her boyfriend a place to stay before they later returned to Auckland.
Ariki jokingly asked for "any money", adding she had "so much fun" and that she loved her.
But the appeal in Anaherā's post was bereft of the upbeat sentiments of her sister's text message to her.
Family of Ariki Rigby were making pleas for any information on her whereabouts several days after her body had been found in a burned car. Photo / Neil Reid
In it, she wrote that she was "so worried sis" as she had not seen or heard from her since.
"Come home please. Call me. Text me. Whatever just let me know your ok," she wrote.
"For days I have been looking for you. I need to know where you are sister. I need to know you're safe. I can't sleep. I can't eat. Please come home."
Tragically, the post was made about six days after Ariki's body had been dumped in a car which was then torched in a gravelly carpark on the outskirts of Havelock North. Police believe the car was driven there between 10pm on September 2 and 7am on September 3.
It wasn't for a further two days that police realised that a body inside the car was human; initially believing the remains were of an animal.
While police investigated what they initially described as an "unexplained death", friends told Anaherā of their last sightings of Ariki.
One person posted that the last place she had been known to meet someone before her disappearance was on Dockery St, in the Napier suburb of Maraenui.
Police officers scouring bush and scrub at the River Rd Recreational Reserve before the inquiry was upgraded to a homicide investigation. Photo / Neil Reid
Another person posted how Ariki had turned up at her parents "randomly" after returning from a visit to Wairoa shortly before her disappearance.
"She was angry," the woman wrote.
She said she was last messaged by Ariki on September 1.
"I'm as concerned for her as well."
'Hey, there's a body in the back'
Sparking a homicide investigation was the last thing Kevin Monrad thought he would be at the centre of when he walked out of his Hastings home last Monday morning.
He got in his car with his dog then headed to the River Rd Recreational Reserve; one of the Hawke's Bay's popular destinations for dog walkers, families going on picnic trips and also cyclists.
While out there, Monrad decided to check out the burned-out car which had been in one corner of the carpark since Saturday.
The River Rd Recreational Reserve is a popular spot for dog walkers and cyclists - but is now a crime scene. Photo / Neil Reid
"I started picking up all the melted bits of aluminium around the car. As I was doing that I noticed inside the car what to me looked like a corpse," he told the Herald.
"Instantly, I yelled out to the first person near me who was also walking a dog, 'Hey, there's a body in the back'."
Two other dog walkers came to see him, with one saying that the burned remains were those of a dog. Police had been in attendance two days earlier, and a towing truck was due later that day to take the charred vehicle to a wrecker's yard.
Unconvinced, Monrad decided to take a closer look and discovered a woman's body which was lying "face down behind the driver's seat".
She had shoulder length hair and was wearing a silver necklace.
The man said it was clear that the woman had "multiple bone fractures".
He immediately called police and urged them to rush to the scene. But when they arrived, they told him that they were aware of animal remains in the car.
Police officers searching for evidence as they scour the River Rd Recreational Reserve three days after a car with the body of Ariki Rigby was torched. Photo / Neil Reid
"They waltzed on down [to the carpark] and it was like, 'We have already heard about it. It is a sheep'," Monrad said.
"I lost it, I had already exposed her face, and said, 'Does a sheep have shoulder-length hair? Does a sheep wear a necklace?'.
"That is when the two officers went and had a look and asked me to stand back."
'Number of lines of inquiry'
Once police realised the remains were those of a human – confirmed to be those of Ariki eight days later – forensics experts gathered at the River Rd Recreational Reserve.
A tent was set up over the burnt-out wreck as the young woman's body was removed and police hunted for any evidence into what they then deemed an investigation into an "unexplained death".
Floral tributes placed at the spot where the car carrying Ariki Rigby's remains was torched. Photo / Neil Reid
Evidence would have been exposed to the elements for two days by then, as well as the immediate area around the car being walked through by the many dog walkers who visit the area.
A day after Monrad's grisly find, police said they were first alerted to the torched car at 10am on September 3.
"Staff attended and due to the condition of the vehicle and debris from the fire, did not immediately identify that human remains were in the cabin of the car," a spokesperson said.
"A subsequent inspection of the vehicle revealed suspected human remains."
Eastern Police District Commander Jeanette Park also revealed police would be reviewing the initial response.
"Our priority at the moment, is to identify this person, and to let their family know," she said.
It would be painstaking eight days between the launching of the "unexplained death" file, and four days after it was upgraded to a homicide investigation until Ariki was formally identified.
Police returned to the scene at the centre of the homicide investigation last weekend to talk to locals and dog walkers. Photo / Neil Reid
Last Thursday, Detective inspector Dave De Lange appealed for anyone who may know her identity to come forward.
Police had been reviewing missing person's cases but "to see if these are relevant to our investigation. At this point, they have not been".
"The community can be assured that we are working hard to identify this woman and to establish what has happened to her," De Lange said.
Police were also reviewing CCTV footage from around the area to see if it could assist with their inquiry.
Last week they set up their community bus at the reserve in a bid to speak to anyone who might have relevant information.
Yesterday morning police announced the news which has left Ariki's family and friends shattered.
"Our thoughts and sympathies are with her family and wider whānau," a spokesperson said. "Police and Victim Support will be offering them support at this difficult time."
It would be two days after the burned-out car was discovered before police started looking for evidence at the scene. Photo / Neil Reid
In confirming the teen's killing, police said they were "following a number of lines of enquiry".
They continue their appeal for more information, a stance echoed by Ariki's family.
"We take this time to acknowledge everyone who has showed love and concern in helping us find our Ariki Rigby," the family said. "All your efforts are greatly appreciated.
"If you have any information and details surrounding her death to please contact The Hastings Police Station in relation to Operation Sphynx."
• Anyone with information is asked to contact Police on 105 quoting file number 220905/1265. Information can be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
